Talk:African American literature

African American literature also has strong ties to the literature of the African diaspora, with African American literature both being influenced by the African diasporic heritage and in turn influencing African diaspora writings.

This doesn't make sense. Slaves and their descendants writing in North America are part of the African diaspora, not "tie[d]" to it. Brian Sweeney 19:35, 27 November 2006 (CST)

Of course they are part of the African diaspora. I'm trying to make the point that African American writings have been both influenced by and have influenced writings in the African diaspora around the world. How about if we say "African American literature constitutes a vital branch of the literature of the African diaspora, with African American literature both being influenced by the great African diasporic heritage and in turn influencing African diasporic writings in many countries."--Jason Sanford 14:02, 28 November 2006 (CST)

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reached early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem Renaissance, and continues today with authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Walter Mosley being ranked among the top writers in the United States.

Aside from the ridiculous remark about where authors are "ranked" (on what scale? by whom? how nebulous and unencyclopedic), African American literature is (still) not a "genre." I think I changed this before. Weeks later, this version of the article is not significantly better than the WP version, perhaps because the same guy (Jason Sanford) is policing both pages. Brian Sweeney 09:33, 8 January 2007 (CST)